Tampa Bay's Stanley Cup triumph mired in controversy

It was a great night for all the fans of the hockey team in the St. Petersburg/Tampa Bay area. A franchise mired in a history of NHL poverty and lowball high jinks is now sitting on top of the hockey world.

The Tampa Bay Lightning prevailed over the Calgary Flames in Game 6 in double OT, and once again in Game 7 to win Lord Stanley's Cup.

Wow, I can remember when the Lightning's best players were Michelle Petite and Shawn Burr. Now, they have two of the best players in the NHL in Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis.

Tampa even once tried to sign Michael Renberg on the back of napkin.

Since Bill Davison took up ownership of the team, he has worked wonders, and I said it first over a year ago.

Tampa Bay won the Stanley Cup, but not without a little controversy.

Martin Gelinas' shot late in the third period of Game 6 passed the goal line by about six inches and yet was discounted. It would have given the Flames a 3-2 lead and if they could've hung on then they'd be 2003-04 Stanley Cup Champs.

Gelinas goal is bigger than Brett Hull's Stanley Cup winning goal in 1999 for Dallas when he was illegally in the crease, which was illegal in those days. Why? Because the rule was highly hypocritical at the time and if his skate had been out of the crease by about half a foot, Dominic Hasek still wouldn't have stopped the shot.

The shot seemed to pass the goal line by about six inches or so before Lightning goalie Nikolai Khabibulin kicked it out after it bounced off Gelinas skate. Had it counted, it would have been Gelinas's fourth series ending goal of the playoffs, which has earned him the nickname the "Eliminator."

So there should be asterisk or we should all just know that Tampa's victory was sort of a sham of sorts. Sort of similar to Nebraska's winning a share of the 1997 National Championship beating Missouri by using an illegal bicycle kick of a Scott Frost pass. Then Frost lost all self-dignity by going on National TV after Nebraska won the Orange Bowl by kissing more rear ends then in the post game interview than most politicians can in a lifetime.

Colorado's football team's National Championship share in 1991 might have been just as bad as they beat Missouri that season on a fifth and goal run for a touchdown.

Missouri seems to be at the focal point of both of those controversies. So a guy with the last name of St. Louis can't stay out of this one, "It still wouldn't count because he kicked it in."

Actually it bounced off Gelinas skate and that still counts based on the NHL rules.

Some might say it was a conspiracy by the NHL and their commissioner Gary Bettman to make more money by having a Game 7.

This is highly unlikely though because the words make more money and NHL in the same sentence have really never coincided anywhere but New York and Detroit. It seems like more like a lack of good judgment.

However, it was an entertaining series, hard-hitting series. A lot of people saw it as two small markets and why should I care. Well, three of the best players in the NHL such as Jarome Iginla of the Flames and Lecavalier and St. Louis for Tampa were involved in the series. And we know for a fact they'll back in the NHL displaying their skills for years to come, no matter how long it takes for the NHL and their players to get their collective bargaining agreement squared away.

This is unlike Colorado's Peter Forsberg, who might have laced up his skates for the last time and is rumored to be headed to play in his native Sweden for the rest of his career.

Plus, we saw gritty 22-year NHL veteran win Dave Andreychuk wins his first Stanley Cup. Unlike the NBA Finals, Andreychuk is not a hanger on like Karl Malone and Gary Payton. He has had pretty much the same role as he did throughout his whole career of a lengthy hard to the net charging forward that reaps fear in the hearts of defensemen. He had only one goal, but 13 assists in the Lightning's Stanley Cup triumph.

For now, the goal of the goal of the NHL is not to look back at the goal of Game 6, but that of making hockey a financially stable sport for which its fans can enjoy for years to come.